I do not mean to write poetry, but it is my only therapy

I do not like spring. Except when it acts like fall. It is better than summer, but everything is, really.



My dog Pixie died 2 days ago. I used to say she was a mostly good girl, just because she was incredibly stubborn, but the truth is, she was a very, very good dog. I have never known anyone sweeter. I will miss her snorty, snuggley, ever hungry and constantly paw pawing self. She was only a bit more than 5 1/2, so she will never be an old gray dog with arthritis or creaky knees. She was very silly and always optimistic, but no one could look more pitiful than her if she did not get her way. She hardly ever barked, she loved short walks, and bananas.

I wrote this yesterday, it doesn't really speak much about her darling personality, but I guess it is what I needed to write at the time. I'm sure there will be other dog poems to torture everyone with to come, maybe I will be able to resist the urge to post them all.


Spring was when my dog died

Spring was when my dog died,
But I didn’t care for spring much before then, anyways,
With its showy blossoms and encroaching heat.
One day I was walking around in my sweater,
The air crisp against my face,
And then the sun felt too close all of a sudden.
The birds all started eyeing me like I was after something that was theirs.

Spring was when my dog died,
But before she did
She got to see a few days of it.
She loved to sit outside
On her velveteen pillow,
Sunbathing like I never would.
She was much more a fan of spring than I am,
Even though she would sometimes sneeze as the pollen grew thick,
I don’t think she minded, though.
She didn’t like the snow
Or the cold wind in her ears.

Spring was when my dog died,
She got to see one last rabbit,
Had a good long walk,
And then took her exit
While the pear trees were in full bloom.

Summer hibernation

ahhh, I cannot be trusted to blog with any sort of consistency. How could I call myself a proper n'er do well if I was the reliable sort? Whims of fancy and gigantic chunks of lost time are my specialty. But now I ramble.

Sooooo....August is half-way through. And not soon enough for me. If I could hunt down summer and slit it's hot, humid, sun-shiney throat, I most certainly would. Fall, now that's my kind of season. Give me fall, give me winter, keep your sandy beached summer to yourself, thank you very much.

I think I will become like the bear that hibernates in reverse, locking myself in an air-conditioned lair until all this 90+ degree weather passes.

& yet, I am still knitting with wool. Only while in the air-conditioned lair, of course, and not with any real consistency, much like this blog; but I've got a Noro-striped scarf on the needles (after wanting to make one for the last year or so), and I did manager to finish Renee's super special fingerless mitts for a handmade/crafty exchange we did.

While I knit the stripey scarf in 90 degree weather, I watch The Mighty Boosh. I love it like I love my mamma's tater tot casserole, and I have a lot of love for that casserole. It's silly and ridiculous and I can't get enough of it. Oh, BBC, how I love you and your crazy shows.

Okay, I've been a slacker when it comes to blogging lately. I've been busy playing Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines, what can I say? Between playing video games, knitting, and a few hours of work thrown in here and there, time has flown by.

Here are some wonderful things I have done lately:

-Seen Coraline with Allison and Melissa. Neil Gaiman has pretty much owned a huge hunk of my heart since I was 17 and hanging out in comic book stores reading The Sandman when it was shiny and new, so I've loved the guy for over half of my life. Coraline is a great book, and I'm happy to say I enjoyed the movie immensely, I will forgive the addition of a boy that helps save the day, only because the movie is visually such an amazing work of art. The story was in Henry Selick's very capable hands, and he did not disappoint As a bonus, if you are a knitter or into fiber arts of any kind, the tremendously talented Althea Crome of Bugknits designed and hand knit Coraline's sweaters and gloves. Incredible stuff, indeed. There are other little knitty goodies in the film, and Allison said that Melissa and I both had audible reactions (ohhhh....ahhhhhh!) during a certain candy dish incident. The movie is perfectly creepy and visually over stimulating, it makes me want to go sew buttons onto everything! I love that the other father wears Monkeybone slippers! It's those kind of details that drive me wild. Anyways, it was super duper fun to watch and I'll probably go see it in 3D while it's still in theaters.

--Knit a thing or two. Most notably my Darkside cowl (in Cherry Tree Hill silk/merino, yum!) and the Armando Hat (Malabrigo worsted, one of my faves). Both were a little challenging at first, but ended up easy peasy once I got my groove. The cowl is for me, the hat is for a worthy co-worker.

--Watched Religulous. I got a kick out of it. I like that Bill Maher, and I love anyone who can make the religious right look as silly as they are. I'm not sure that he interviewed the cream of the theological crop, with a few seemingly sound and competent exceptions. I surprisingly found myself really liking the Catholic priests he interviewed, especially the Vatican's scientist and the priest in front of the Vatican. And the monk, I can't forget him. He was a charmer. Otherwise it was the usual assortment of wacky faith-before-sanity types, but that's okay, it was quite entertaining.

--Went to Asheville. What a great place, I'm already looking forward to my next trip there, whenever that may be. Had some great food and some exceptional porter. Now I'm hungry and want a beer, go figure.

--Finished all the Sookie Stackhouse novels. Now I'm in Sookie withdrawal. I need to know what happens next, and if Eric will be involved.

So there ya go. Some knitting, some movies, some reading, some hanging out with friends (usually involving B&N, though there was some silly game night fun thrown in), a little travel, and a lot of video game playing.

A lace scarf & a vampire movie!

Well, I finally got brave and started a lace project. I checked out "Last Minute Knit Gifts" from the library last week, and there's a nice little pattern called "Airy Scarf " that is a lovely beginner's lace project. I'm using Knit Picks Gloss lace in Mermaid, which so far has been very nice to work with. I made a little progress with the scarf at the KIP I attend, and I expect I'll be finished in a jiffy. The book says it's a 4 hour project...I think that's a good estimate. I think I'll be purchasing the book, there's some great gift knits in it. Speaking of the Knit in Public -- what a great time! There was a really good turn out, and I had so much fun talking with everyone (at least the people within earshot of me, ha!)


This morning I saw one hell of a good vampire movie called "Let the Right One In". It's Swedish, based on the 2004 novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist, which I am relieved to find out has been translated into English because I would like to read it. The story centers around a 12 year old boy who is tormented by bullies and who befriends who he thinks is a 12 year old girl, but who is in fact a vampire. The movie was visually appealing to me, I loved the constant snow and cold weather -- not to mention all of the great scarves and hats everyone was wearing! And it's set in the 80's, when I was a kid, so all the better! The young actor who plays Oskar just captured my heart. I'm quite smitten with the movie. It is all at once sad, awful, hopeful, and haunting. It's a vampire tale that is not the least bit glamorous, quite the opposite, it's achingly human. There's an American version in the works, and I do hope it is as successful at telling the story as the Swedish version, though this movie, at least for me, has set the bar incredibly high. I have my doubts that it can be redone as well as this. I know I'll be thinking about it for a while, it's that good.

November crept up on me!

Eegads, it's November! How the heck did that happen? I guess I better get crackin' with the gift knitting, because there's only like a month and a half left before Christmas.



Okay, I gotta admit, I'm not really thinking about Christmas yet. Which isn't good, since the knitting time is dwindling down. Oh well, here's what I am thinking of:



--The Watchmen movie. I know, it's not due out until March 2009 (how am I going to wait that long????). And it does make me sad that Alan Moore hates the project. But I can't help but be excited....especially about Jackie Earle Haley cast as my personal favorite character, Rorschach.Okay, Nite Owl will always have a place in my heart, but I love the unlovable, what can I say?



--Diablo 3. I have been secretly (or not so secretly, if you ask my husband) pleading to the video game gods to please make a Diablo 3 for years. I'm slightly obsessed with Diablo 2, I just rock that game and have never found anything as fun, at least for me, to play. And now I have to yet again try to be patient until it is released...which won't be until at least 2009, ugh!



--Postsecret.com. This is by far one of my favorite obsessions. I love going there every Sunday and seeing the new secrets. Some are haunting, some are hysterical, and most of them just get to me in a way that makes me feel a bit more human.



--Ravelry swaps! I am addicted to swapping (it's sortof like having a penpal that sends you yarn and goodies, for any non-knitters reading this). I can't get enough of it. Right now I'm in the Darjeeling Limited Swap, and am having a blast picking out yarn and figuring out what to get for my partner. I'm having a hard time deciding if I want my theme to be Sweet Lime, Feather ceremony, or just Damaged Brothers. I'm leaning towards Damaged Brothers, there's just too much goodness in that movie it's really hard to narrow down my gift theme. It's a good problem, really!



I took the plunge and made some major knitting purchases for my birthday present to myself. I finally bought the Knit Picks Options interchangable needle set, and I'm so glad I did. The cords are super flexable, and I've been very happy with the set. I also got myself a Royal Ball Winder and a wooden umbrella swift! Squee!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No more hand winding yarn draped over my knees for hours on end for me! I feel completely spoiled, but they are all such practical tools I just couldn't deny myself any longer!

Here's the project I broke in the Knitpicks Options on:



It's the Scrunchable Scarf, knit on size 11 needles with Malabrigo worsted in Olive. I am in love with Malabrigo yarn. It's wonderfully soft, wonderfully beautiful (kettle dyed goodness!), and wonderfully affordable for how much yardage there is (216 yards for worsted). I can't get enough of the stuff.

Oh, and I did finish my Ravelympics project on time -- I ended up knitting the Amanda Hat, hence the goofy pic of me in said Amanda hat flashing my best game face up top, ha!

I have succombed....

Am I the last person on Earth not blogging? Even grandmothers are blogging, and I somehow missed the boat. I'm shocked I've held out this long, being the sort that self-discloses too much and spends a little too much time roaming the net.





Well, today is the day. I have signed up for the Ravelympics/Knitting Olympics on Ravelry (representing The Guild of Calamitous Intent, hell yeah!), so I figured it might be nice to have somewhere to document my evil knitting attempts.

Now, I have to decide what to knit. A pink pillbox hat that Dr. Girlfriend would be proud to wear? A helmet and crown for The Monarch? Decisions, decisions. Of course, my heart belongs to Dr. Orpheus, but I have to knit for evils sake, by gum... and I think a cape is too ambitious for me to make in a mere 17 day time frame.





That is all.
Go Team Venture!